Joy Walshe

Spotlight by Severine, We7 PR Guru

We are proud to present to you Joy Walshe, a fantastic singer-songwriter who has risen from the Tastemaker charts to become one of the most downloaded artists on We7. Her first album, Saint for a Sinner, is a collection of piano and guitar led ballads recorded with the help of the brilliant Rupert Cobb, who has worked with the likes of Snow Patrol, Damien Rice and Ray Lamontagne.
Here we find out a little more about the artist who has seduced you, as she talks us through her careeer to date and what the future holds!

The interview

Hi Joy, how are you today?

Hi Severine, I'm really well thanks! I'm very excited about being on the Spotlight page. The recent response to my songs has been wonderful, with We7 members downloading my songs over 8,500 times in the last 6 weeks. A big thank you for enjoying my music!

How does it feel to go from uploading your music to the tastemaker section to being the number one downloaded artist on the site?

It's a great feeling! I thought no one would find me at first but then I started getting good reviews and suddenly, on Valentine's Day, I was at number 1! As an unsigned artist, it's fantastic to see that support and interest in my music. It's great to know that more people are discovering my music.

How do you go about writing a song? Where do you get your inspiration from?

I mainly draw upon personal experiences and 'get it all out' by creating the chords and melody on the piano – a very cathartic experience in times of trouble! Usually, the melody will come ahead of the lyrics, although I often have an idea of the general 'tone' or subject matter of the song from the start. Sometimes, the lyrics will just roll off my pen, but other times it takes longer: it just depends on the song.

Often I find inspiration in friends' stories or snippets of everyday life. For example, I wrote "Simple Love" about a young couple I noticed on the tube (long before James Blunt's 'You're Beautiful' tube inspired song was released!). They were in the first throes of falling in love and staring into each other's eyes. I thought about their happiness, but also their naivety at what the reality of life could throw at them. I envisaged their love as a vulnerable and precarious balancing act, like a "life on a string", which is tested by this "stormy web of life". I use a lot of metaphors in my lyrics but ultimately people will have their own interpretations and take from the songs what they wish.

I also write guitar based songs with my acoustic guitarist Matt. This has worked well and given the album a lovely dynamic as the guitar led songs are quite 'Summery' and upbeat, whereas the piano based songs are more serious ballads.

What were the influences that shaped your album?

I had many influences in mind while creating the album. Rupert Cobb, the producer would always say "The song is the boss". This was a great expression as it meant we didn't try to contort the music into any set format; we just experimented until the song moved us. I wanted to create an album which was accessible and radio friendly but at the same time had longevity and appealed to those who like singer/songwriter material. My main influences are Dido, Coldplay, KT Tunstall and James Blunt - with elements of Tori Amos and Kate Bush too. Hopefully the album appeals to a broad enough spectrum of people without "selling out".

How did you find touring the US and Canada as part of a Choir?

You have been doing your homework! It was a wonderful experience, I was only 18 and during the tour we were singing every day, with a repertoire from Les Miserables to Pie Jesu. It was also my first trip out of Europe, so it was a whole new world to me! I have particularly fond memories of the maple syrup pancakes!

Did you enjoy recording your album, Saint for a Sinner?

I loved it. Recording my own album without any artistic constraints was a dream of mine. I had a fantastic team working on my songs and we all got very emotionally attached to our creations! It was an amazingly creative experience. The fact that the album took a year to record and put together meant that it was a little difficult juggling a full-time job in London and only having the weekends to record. But I loved the weekends!!

How would you describe your different musical experiences?

I've been lucky enough to have had a wide variety of experience, from singing with choirs, being signed to an independent record label, playing on Sky TV, recording my own album, playing solo or gigging with the band in the US and London and now - best of all - being number 1 on We7!!

You are currently gigging in London – do you go through any warm up rituals before you go on stage?

Vocal warm up exercises are essential and I'm a bit obsessive about doing them before singing. Before gigs, I'm always in the loos / dressing rooms making strange warm up noises. They are quite hilarious to watch! I was interviewed on Sky TV and they filmed me doing my warm up exercises, with my hands on my back taking a deep breath, bending over and then puffing all the air out when I came up to standing position! The technicians were in hysterics. I don't do such comedy moves anymore as I use a technique called speech level singing but I do lots of "bubble" noises while pouting my lips! Not very sexy but it makes such a difference to the voice!

What are your plans for 2008?

I've got so many plans for 2008, with lots of gigs in London both acoustically and with my 6 piece band including the Regal Room and the Bedford. All my gig listings are on my website and MySpace pages so would love people to come and hear us play live! Also, I would love to build on the momentum created by We7 and for the word to continue to spread. My mailing list is a great way of finding new fans and publicising upcoming gigs and releases, please join! It really is down to the fans. I'm also looking at releasing a download only single of a new song 'Cry', which gets the whole audience dancing at gigs and which I love singing so I'm really looking forward to recording it soon.

What advice would you give to new artists?

Well the apt phrase for us musicians is "Never give up". As my singing coach says, if you're gigging enough and getting your material out there as much as possible then hopefully people will find you. I also liked a quote I came across the other day: "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity", which I thought very appropriate as a lot of luck is needed in the music industry! That and great fans!